From Point A to Point B
by AngeloftheOdd
Summary: A drabble about B and A from "Another Note". Won't make much sense if you haven't read the novel yet


**From Point A to Point B: The First Generation  
By Angel of the Odd  
**

They called him Alpha, or simply "A". Atlas would have been a better moniker, for he seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Alpha. The beginning. The first of many chosen as the potential successor to L.

He had come to Wammy's house at the age of 13. His parents had died in a fire. A simple accident. Nothing mysterious. His father had always had the habit of leaving the coffee maker turned on. His mother had scolded him, half joking, saying that he was going to burn the house down. One night he had. Alpha's former life went up in flames. He was left with nothing but the ashes.

Alpha shared a room with Beyond. B. B was his only friend. They were the odd couple. Alpha, the neat, meticulous goody-goody who always played by the rules. B, the wild-eyed, disheveled out-cast who would play dirty to win. It was always about winning with B. Right from the start, it had been a battle of dominance over their quarters. Alpha liked order, he liked consistency. B was chaotic and spontaneous, but Alpha saw the method in his madness. He didn't particularily like his roommate, but he respected him. Maybe even admired him.

Beyond, in turn, was jealous of Alpha. He couldn't understand how this boy could possibly surpass him in rank. Sure, Alpha had all the potential in the world, but he lacked ambition. B had that in spades. Alpha liked being in the moment of solving the puzzle. Beyond like the success of solving it. B decided that Alpha was his friend. He sure as hell wasn't worthy of being his rival, no matter what that old man, Watari, said. L was the one to beat. No. L was the one to _become_. B was always becoming. Alpha just _was_ and that's all he'd ever be.

Sure, there were others in the house to watch out for, but Alpha was always first, second only to L himself. There was C. Collage they called him. Crazy behind his back. He was always in his room, surrounded by magazines. Cutting out pictures of eyes and gluing them to his wall until it was a giant mural. Unblinking and staring back at him. Judging him. C had eventually ended up in the madhouse. No one was surprised. Except maybe the old man.

Alpha hated Watari. He hated the fact that he and the others were all just another experiment to him. Like lab rats. As if anyone could actually _become_ L. He'd never met him personally, but he knew enough about him to discern that L was his own personality; a very talented and unique individual that could not be replaced by some carbon copy. B had come close, not that Alpha was around at the time to learn about it. Even B had ended up becoming nothing more than a mere reflection of the great detective in the end. An image in a fun-house mirror. What Alpha wanted was for his abilities to be appreciated on their own. Not to be compared to L. He didn't care about surpassing or even equaling him. He didn't even want to meet the man. He simply liked the thrill of working out the answer.

Alpha and Beyond may have lived in different worlds but they shared a room until they were in their late teens. B had already begun to mould himself into what he thought the old man wanted him to be. He even took to wearing eye-liner to mimic the bags that were rumored to be under L's eyes. Alpha still had the same long, straight brown hair, the same hazel eyes rimmed by spectacles, the same perfect posture. Still as un-L like in appearance as ever. Why was he still in the lead? B hated that fact. How could he win against someone who refused to even play the game? Alpha never laid out any terms of war for him. To him there was no war. Alpha and Beyond were friends.

Alpha sat at his disgustingly organized desk, pouring over volumes of books. Every so often, he would adjust his glasses, even though they sat perfectly straight on his face. It was an odd quirk of his. He did this whenever he was deep in thought. It annoyed the hell out of B. Why was he studying history anyways? To B it was always about the future. To hell with the past.

"What are you doing?' B asked.

He was hunched over in his chair, his feet resting on the seat. He was watching his friend intently, in a manner that reminded Alpha of an owl.

"You know damn well I'm working on a case right now," Alpha replied. "There's a ritual aspect involved. I'm almost positive that the killer is mimicking an ancient Druid sacrifice."

"Is it fascinating?"

"Not to you it wouldn't be. Why must you stare at me like that, B? It's hard to concentrate with you reading over my shoulder."

"You should sit like me. It increases deductive skills by forty percent."

"You know quite well that the last time I humored you by crouching into that position my back was stiff for a week. Besides, it didn't work. I found my thoughts more muddled than ever."

"L always sits like this."

"Did Watari tell you that?' Alpha asked. "Do you ever think that maybe it's a test? Just to see how serious we follow his words? Have you considered that it may even be a joke? Maybe the old man gets off on making us look like fools. You are trying so hard to imitate someone whom you've never even laid eyes on. I couldn't be more different than L, and yet, I'm apparently better suited to be him than you."

B's face flushed with anger. He hated to be reminded of this fact. Especially by Alpha himself.

"One day, Alpha," he said. "I'll outshine you both."

"Go ahead, B."

Alpha was used to Beyond's stubborn pride.

"You'll see," he repeated.

But Alpha never did see.

"I want you to become L's successor," Alpha replied. "In fact, I want nothing more than for you to outrank me. Maybe then you'd stop with this pointless power-struggle. I don't want to compete with you. I'd be happy to work with you."

But B worked alone. B worked alone because L worked alone. Or so the story went. He had no response to this comment, though. He liked Alpha, but he didn't understand him. No motivation. So he changed the subject.

"I know what D's real name is," he said.

Alpha's blood ran cold. B had claimed to know C's real name before. Had been right about it, in fact. Right before C was hauled off in a straight jacket.

"Do you?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do," B replied. "And I know what "A" stands for too."

"What's that?"

"Asshole."

Alpha couldn't help but laugh. B always resorted to childish name calling when he couldn't gain the upper hand in a conversation. That was the one detail that Alpha prided himself on. He was eloquent when he chose to speak.

"Don't you have better things to do than bother me?" Alpha asked.

"Sure I do. But this is way more fun," B answered.

"In that case, why don't we get some fresh air for a while. I could use a cup of coffee, how about you?"

"Always."

Alpha liked to drink his coffee black. No sugar. No milk. B liked his with so much sugar that it became a brown, syrupy sludge. Alpha hated sweet things. B could eat an entire jar of jam in seconds. Alpha would order soup and sit up straight, napkin folded on his lap which was unnecessary since he never spilled a drop. B always ordered cake and it ended up mostly on his face, hands and clothes. Clothes that looked as if they'd always been slept in and unwashed for days. Alpha wore a suit and tie that looked as if it had just been ironed.

Beyond thought that Alpha was repressed. Alpha thought that Beyond was obsessed. Neither of them ever succeeded L. But they came close. If they had worked together, like Alpha had suggested, they could have rivaled his skill. But B wanted to become L. And Alpha just wanted to be Alpha. The illusion of a man neither had ever met, nor ever would meet, haunted their every step.

One night, Beyond left Wammy's house for good. Watari had made his decision. Alpha was the victor of a contest he had never vied to win. B's parting words had been humble. He even hugged Alpha goodbye. A would never become L. B saw this. As clear as he saw the numbers above Alpha's head. As clear as he had always seen them.

Watari had planned to move Alpha out of Wammy's. Move him to a new location. Project L had been a success. He had his back-up file. But Alpha wasn't a blank disk in which to imprint data upon. Alpha was Alpha. He had always been. He always would be. Two nights after Beyond's departure, Alpha removed the tie he was wearing, fashioned it into a noose and hung himself from a beam in his room. The room he and B had shared.

D discovered the body. She was never quite the same after that. She thought that Wammy's was cursed. Maybe it was. After all, C had gone insane, B had just up and vanished and now, A was dead. Maybe there was only meant to be one L and one L only. So she too left.

Beyond smiled as he walked down the dark streets of Los Angeles. It was his time to shine.


End file.
